The One Who Got Away
by InsaneAndHappyAboutIt
Summary: "It was his mission to find the man and catch him so he would pay for his crimes but despite his wish to do his duty as an enforcer of the law, Steve found himself consumed with guilt at having become an enemy to his once friend." Warning: MATURE SEXUAL CONTENTS!, M/M, Slight Violence, Bucky did not lose his arm in this AU. I hope you like it and please review! ENJOY! XD


**Warning: MATURE SEXUAL CONTENTS, M/M, Slight Violence**

 **Hello Steve/Bucky slash lovers! I've been preoccupied by this pairing for a while and finally I decided to throw my hat in the game so... Here it is! My Steve/Bucky AU! BTW, in this Bucky still has both his arms so if the metal limb bothered you, no more problems! XD I hope you like it and I would dearly appreciate a review. Thank you in advance! ENJOY!**

 **Also, I do NOT own Captain America or any of the characters!**

 _ **The One Who Got Away**_

Steve Rogers held the gun between his fingers, firmly pointed at the ground but ready to zoom in on a different target should the detective feel threatened. There was a war waging inside the man's heart and it had been going on ever since his closest friend and once partner abandoned him and everything they believed in. It was his mission to find the man and catch him so he would pay for his crimes but despite his wish to do his duty as an enforcer of the law, Steve found himself consumed with guilt at having become an enemy to his once friend. He wanted nothing more than to catch the man and shake him until reason settled back in his straying thoughts. He wanted his partner back. He wanted his friend back. He needed Bucky Barns back but some devastatingly logical part of him reminded him yet again that it could never happen. Bucky was now his enemy and an enemy of everyone around him. He was a criminal and he had to be stopped, at any cost, before he did more harm and caused more suffering.

Steve swallowed around the lump forming in his throat as he ascended the concrete stairs of the abandoned apartment block. He'd followed Bucky inside and he knew there was nowhere for the man to run. This day there would be no miraculous escape for the once detective and, though Steve should have been celebrating the fact, he was dreading the confrontation. He still recalled the day Bucky suddenly reappeared into his life, a huge shock considering he'd been supposedly dead for years. He'd had a car accident while chasing a drug dealer and his car went up in flames when it veered off the road and flipped upside down. His body had never been found but that wasn't much of a surprise considering the charred remains of the vehicle. Steve witnessed the whole thing and in that moment, when he saw the red hot flames consume the car with Bucky inside, his heart stopped beating. He would have waited around until the flames were put out, despite knowing the man couldn't be anything but dead, but he still had to chase the drug dealer and, while he was still in shock, he caught the criminal and nearly beat him to death in his rage and grief. It took the combined efforts of three other officers to pry him off the rambling man. Fortunately he wasn't arrested for assault, having been given a pass for his understandably grief stricken outburst.

The years after that passed by in a blur. There wasn't a day he didn't find his thought wandering to Bucky, recalling a memory they shared in their childhood, ordering a drink he knew the other man would have teased him about, laughing at a joke he knew the dead detective would have liked. It was hellish. When he was promoted to Captain he felt very little joy, knowing that Bucky should have been there to celebrate with him. The other man was older than him by a few years and he would have gotten the position far sooner than he had. They would have gone out for drinks and laughed at stupid things until the sun rose across the morning sky. Without Bucky he settled for a few rounds of whisky by himself at the local bar before he retreated to the loneliness of his apartment where he postponed his sleep for as long as possible. He was never eager to lose himself in the hounding memories of an older boy who stood up for him against bullies and inspired him to join the force. He woke up every morning with his heart clenched in a lamenting cold fist and the only thing which kept him going was the thought that he had to make Bucky proud. He had to protect and save as many people as he could because that was what Bucky would have done if he had lived.

Then everything changed half a year ago. Steve was on a stakeout mission, trailing a group of arm dealers to the exchange point where he was to call enforcements and apprehend the felons. That was the plan anyway and it would have gone smoothly like a hundred similar plans went before that but when he neared the criminals, in order to identify the ones bringing the weapons in exchange for the cash, he'd frozen stiff among the shadows. He instantly recognised the man protecting the spokesperson. His hair was longer and messier but it was him, of that there was no doubt in Steve's mind even from a distance. In his dazed surprise he called out Bucky's name, alerting the criminals to his presence, and his friend looked straight at him without a hint of recognition in his dark eyes. Before Steve could say another word he found himself with a bullet in his shoulder, a bullet fired by Bucky Barns himself. The days Steve spent in the hospital were miserable. He wanted to go and find his partner and find out why he'd shot him. Surely, Bucky acted so because he had to. Maybe he was being forced by the criminals to help them. Maybe they had something on him and that was why he had to keep silent about his survival. There had to be a logical explanation! Steve got angry every time his colleagues even so much as hinted at the possibility of Bucky turning bad. He nearly got into a fight with Sam Wilson, a very close friend, precisely because of that…

The next time he ran into Bucky, after some serious searching, Steve discovered his friend didn't remember any of his past. Steve was admittedly greatly reassured when Bucky attacked him, not because he'd turned bad of his own volition, but because he didn't remember who he was. It was a small comfort but it gave Steve hope. If only he could make Bucky remember his true self then he would get his childhood friend back. Steve made it his own personal mission to find Bucky again and bring him on the right path. The task proved far more difficult than he'd anticipated and he nearly got killed each time he tried to approach Bucky. One time the assassin threw him in a furious river and he would have frozen to death had Natasha Romanoff not rescued him in the nick of time. Soon after that the higher-ups put Bucky's name on the most wanted list despite Steve's vehement arguments. He explained to them that the man wasn't a criminal, that he simply couldn't recall ever being something else. He argued and fought against the decision but it was all in vain. Once Nick Fury gave an order than it would take the devil himself to change his mind and even he would have a hard time! The man didn't rise to his position of power by being a softie...

Steve understood why Bucky was considered dangerous and why he had to be caught but he still felt guilty for fighting him. It was even harder when the burden was resting entirely on his shoulder since he was the only one of the two who remembered the other. Sam and Natasha understood to some extent or at least they tried to understand but they didn't know Bucky like he did. They didn't know the protective and mischievous kid who extended his hand towards him in friendship despite his scrawny appearance and nerdy pursuits. Since then Steve grew up into a fine specimen of a man but back then he'd been so thin the wind could have floored him. It really didn't come as a surprise when he ended up being the prime target of every mean kid across a 10 mile radios…

Bucky was there when he had his first drink, or his first kiss, or met his late wife. He'd been there to give sage advice when he wanted to woo Peggy Carter, one of their instructors back at the academy. Unfortunately Bucky 'died' before he and Peggy got married. He missed seeing them dance on their wedding night, the promised dance which became somewhat of a joke between the three of them. He'd also missed Peggy's own death, a far slower and infinitely more painful demise than his supposed end. Peggy's cancer consumed her to the point where she looked three times her age and was unable to leave her bed but Steve still loved her until she released her final breath. Bucky missed so many things and Steve wanted nothing more than to spend days filling in the blanks for him. Yet here he was, tracking him down to arrest him because it was his duty and Bucky was working for some seriously nefarious crime lords.

Steve heard the sound of a door being banged shut and he quickened his steps, despite his doubts. Maybe today would be the day he would manage to shake Bucky's memories loose and they could get him the help he so desperately needed. Steve promised to himself he would be there, beside his friend, for every step of his recovery. He would never leave his side again because he couldn't bear to lose him a second time. The gun felt too heavy in his hand, weighed down with its murderous purpose. Steve told himself he had it out simply to intimidate Bucky, though even as he said it he knew it would take much more than a standard police gun to intimidate the other man. If push came to shove then he would use the gun but only in self-defence and only to incapacitate Bucky. He couldn't even picture killing his best friend. It was unimaginable.

He reached the floor where he thought Bucky was and he paused, straining his ears to detect the slightest sound. He heard nothing but he knew Bucky was there. When he reached the only closed door along his way he shoved it open with one palm, the other holding the cocked gun at the ready. He inhaled a sharp breath between clenched teeth before stepping inside, weapon aimed straight ahead. The abandoned room had one window, the glass long ago shattered by some teenager having fun with rocks, and thick planks of wood were nailed to keep intruders, probably animals, from entering. The spaces between the rectangular barriers were large enough to let in copious amounts of moonlight. Bucky was nowhere to be seen. The room was empty. Steve cursed under his breath but he never had the chance to turn and check behind him. He felt a paralysing, sharp blow across the back of his head and his groan caught in his throat. His knees hit the dusty floor hard and a brief moment later he lost consciousness.

* * *

Steve was caught in that confounding mental state, the one tittering on the verge of wakefulness but still firmly clasped in the realm of dreams. On one hand he wanted to stay asleep, desperately reaching for the fleeting shards of his peaceful dream. He couldn't remember exactly what it was but it made him happy and it had been a while since he felt so damn content. On the other hand, that rational fragment of his mind which was vaguely aware of his real life surroundings was screaming at him to wake up. Steve tried to ignore it, still sufficiently drowsy that the yelling was merely a buzzing somewhere off in the distance, but that stupid voice of reason was persistent. He frowned, realising that just maybe he should listen and pay attention though he was still hesitant to do either.

He knew he should remember something….something important which happened just before he fell asleep. He wasn't exactly sure what that something was but his mind was already searching for the memory and once he found it, things would make sense again. He was just aware enough for him to register something cold pressing against his right temple. It was hard and unpleasant. For some reason he thought of it as a threat, as a danger, but it wasn't important enough to ring any alarm bells yet. He felt something else move across his left cheek and down along the angle of his jaw. This sensation was the stark opposite of the cold, hard pressure. It was warm and soft and pleasant. He found himself relaxing as whatever that was caressed the contours of his face as if drawing a map of it.

It took him an embarrassingly long time to realise those were fingertips moving across his lips and once that dawned on him, the memory of the chase and of Bucky knocking him out cold ran him over like a freight train. Those alarm bells which were so silence a second ago blared like the sirens of a fire truck and his eyes, so reluctant to open before, snapped ajar. He found himself face to face with the criminal, Bucky's fingers frozen on Steve's lips. Suddenly everything made so much sense and yet nothing seemed to make sense at all. Steve blinked in confusion, taken aback by the stony gaze of his once best friend. He tried to move his hands only to realise a second later they were handcuffed to the bed railing, with his own pair of cuffs nonetheless. Talk about adding insult to injury…

'Bucky wha-?' He had so many questions he wanted to ask the man straddling him, the foremost of which being why he was straddling him?! Also, why were they in a bed? And why was he touching him so gently a moment ago, especially when he had a gun firmly pressed to his head? So, so many questions…

'Why?' Bucky's unexpected question silenced Steve. He couldn't begin to imagine what Bucky meant but he knew it was important. He could tell by the emotion in the assassin's quiet voice and the way he looked at him. Steve didn't say anything, patiently waiting for Bucky to say more. Suddenly the fingers left his lips and grasped his chin harshly, holding Steve's head so he couldn't move away even if he wanted to. Stormy blue eyes clashed with the blues of forget-me-nots.

'Why can't I pull the trigger?!' Steve flinched at the sudden rise in Bucky's agitated voice. The gun pressed harder against his skin and he felt the trembling of the other man's hand as it reverberated through the weapon. He knew Bucky's finger was poised along the trigger and a simple push would mean his death yet he wasn't afraid. He knew Bucky wouldn't hurt him, a stupid notion considering he'd come close to killing Steve countless times in the past. But this time it was different. He noticed the absence of a killing instinct in Bucky's searching eyes. If he was wrong then he would pay with his life but for an instant, he saw the shade of the Bucky Barns he grew up with. He saw the remains of his best friend struggling to rise to the surface under the murky blue of those irises.

'Bucky-' Without any warning Bucky whipped the gun across Steve's face, cutting his lip. An instant later Steve tasted the blood running down his tongue.

'I'm the Winter Soldier! Why do you keep calling me Bucky? I don't know who that is!' Steve drew in a steady breath, fully aware of how precarious his situation was. If he pushed the other man too far he might end up with his brains redecorating the decrepit walls.

'Yes you do. I know you do. You're Bucky and you're my best friend. It's the reason why you can't kill me. Please, listen to me! This isn't who you are!' Steve's voice became pleading as if he was bargaining with Bucky to remember him and how much he cared for him.

'Shut up! You're wrong! I don't know you!' He struck Steve again, this time hard enough for the Captain's head to twist at a sharp angle. 'I just….' Bucky's entire posture slumped as if the fight suddenly went out of him. It broke Steve's heart to see him like that but secretly he was rejoicing. This was the first sign he got that Bucky Barns was still surviving inside the Winter Soldier. It gave him hope that maybe there was still some way to reach his best friend and he wasn't about to waste this miraculous opportunity.

'Bucky, I can help you! Come back with me and we'll figure this out. Together. I know you're still in there and I want to help you. Please!' He strained against his restraints, yearning to grasp Bucky's shoulders and shake him until he agreed or maybe he just wanted to hug the trembling man to his chest. Either way, the handcuffs wouldn't budge and all Steve could do was search Bucky's steadfast gaze for any further hopeful signs. Bucky's eyes narrowed and Steve felt his heart sink. The blue-grey irises regained their stony façade and the Winter Soldier straightened his back.

'I don't need your help. You're nothing to me but a target and I think I figured out why I can't kill you. Maybe a long time ago I cared about you but I didn't see you as a _friend_.'

Steve's mouth opened wide to argue the point but his eyes grew even wider when he felt Bucky's lips press against his. He froze with shock as the other man drove his tongue inside his mouth, licking along his own verbal muscle with unrestrained zeal. Steve was sure he was actually still knocked out, something which seemed far more plausible than the current situation, until he felt his tongue being sucked into Bucky's own mouth. Still attempting to convince himself this was some amazing fragment of his imagination, he saw no reason why he shouldn't indulge a little. He twisted his tongue alongside Bucky's and the result was explosive. It didn't take long for Bucky's tongue to succumb to his and even less for him to coax a moan out of the criminal. The sound was so pregnant with lust it dispelled any thought of this being a dream. This was really happening and Steve was surprised to find he was enjoying every second of it. He could have never imagined Bucky's chapped lips would feel so good against his, or that the sensation of his teeth scraping against his lip or tongue would send such wild shivers up his spine.

When Bucky pulled away, Steve was reluctant to end the kiss. It took an almost superhuman effort to resist the temptation of craning his head so he would follow the other pair of lips. Bucky lit a fire inside him and it was growing as he stared into the other's searching eyes. He watched with raped attention as Bucky hastily got rid of his black leather jacket, the material landing heavily on the floor, no doubt weighed down by the many concealed weapons hidden among its folds. Steve's eyes narrowed as he witnessed more of his friend's skin being exposed. He felt his mouth go very dry when Bucky lifted his arms over his head and pulled away the black tank-top, giving Steve an unobscured view of his muscular chest. He found himself tracing the beautifully defined muscles of Bucky's thorax, wishing more than ever that his hands were free so he could touch the alluring skin.

'Bucky, this isn't right… We should stop before we do something stupid.' Even to his own ears the idea sounded ridiculous but the goody-two-shoes side of him demanded that he should say it. Some distant voice of rationality whispered that this was his best friend and that what they were doing would cross a very significant line but the more he lost himself in Bucky's lusty eyes the quieter the voice became. Steve was an honest person and he couldn't even lie to himself. He wanted Bucky in ways which both excited and terrified him.

'Don't lie, you want this as much as me.' Bucky licked his lips slowly and Steve followed that wicked tongue of his, completely giving away his true feelings.

'Why are you doing this?' Steve was afraid of the answer but he had to know, even if he knew damn well it will hurt him like a thunderclap. Bucky was silent for a handful of seconds before he lowered his mouth to the Captain's throat and licked a long strip up to the man's ear. Steve clenched his teeth to halt a yearning gasp, loving the way Bucky's outgrown hair swayed across his neck.

'Because I can and because I want to.' Feeling the hot breath of the renegade blow across his ear drove Steve wild. He didn't offer any more objections as Bucky moved his mouth back to his throat, tasting the salt of his skin.

Steve felt fingers inch up his hips, moving under his t-shirt. As they advanced up his abdomen, the white material was bunched up until Bucky could move his searing, open-mouth kisses to his chest. He'd heard stories that the nipples were sensitive erogenous zones but he never realised how much a simple swipe of tongue along the pink nubbins could shock his entire nervous system. Either he was seriously overdue for a good lay or Bucky had some impressive knowledge of how the male body worked. Steve frowned at the notion of Bucky doing this sort of thing with some other man, disliking the idea very much, but he soon forgot about the whole thing when the skilful tongue moved down to his stomach. His hips bucked involuntarily, kept in place only by the weight of the body on top of them, when teeth sunk around the ticklish area around his bellybutton. It was becoming harder and harder not to make embarrassingly lewd noises, small gasps already managing to squeeze through the defence of his clenched teeth.

Eager fingers were already struggling with his belt and he braced himself for what he knew full well was coming. Steve sucked in a steadying breath when his jeans were yanked down his thighs, exposing his member to the unexpectedly chill air. It was all the more noticeable since the rest of him seemed to be doused in molten lava. Bucky glanced briefly at his face, his dark blue eyes almost blackened with desire, before he moved his mouth over the straining tip of Steve's manhood. Steve hissed when Bucky grasped the organ in his fist, giving it a testing squeeze, before beginning to pump it steadily. Those moans the detective tried so hard to keep inside before suddenly broke loose and he pressed his head back into the old mattress as the pleasure began building inside him at a breakneck pace. When lips and tongue were added to the mix, Steve was sure he would lose it completely. His biceps strained as he pulled with all his strength on his restraints, his fingers itching to tangle in the messy brown locks and push Bucky's head faster along his leaking member. He always thought of himself as a level-headed chap but in that instant he was fully prepared to become a beast.

He felt the pleasure build and build and build and build until it overloaded his nerves with rapture. His mouth opened wide and his larynx let loose a strangled cry as he came, hot and heavy, Bucky's lips and tongue still wrapped around his hypersensitive length. For a full minute, Steve's vision was cloudy and he could focus on nothing else except his ragged breathing. Thin rivers of fresh perspiration ran between the curves of his muscles, cooling all too quickly in the night chill. He completely missed noticing Bucky undressing the rest of the way, his combat boots and trousers joining the forgotten coat on the floor. He also got rid of his gun which had been pointed at Steve's chest seconds ago. Steve missed seeing the way Bucky twisted his tongue, still coated in the white result of his release, around three of his own fingers. He was so preoccupied with his momentary bliss he was none the wiser to Bucky's rushed preparations, barely registering a soft gasp from the other man somewhere off in the distance. He did however notice when Bucky fisted his cock once more, pumping it into full arousal in record time.

'Bucky…' Steve was taken aback at how different his own voice sounded. It was almost a growl, so saturated with want it barely sounded human. That feral sensation boiling just under his skin wasn't entirely foreign to him. He felt something similar when he'd been on the front line back in his days as a soldier but this… this was so much more intense. Right then and there Steve knew he would pursue this feeling again and again, keeping on Bucky's tracks like a starved hound.

Steve imagined reaching for the other man but holding off from touching, leaving it up to Bucky to close the distance. He saw the uncertainty in the other's eyes, only just then realising he was staring straight back into Bucky's eyes with a dreamy expression across his face. He felt the fist moving along his length falter but eventually Bucky resumed the rhythmic hand-job. Steve's imagination took over again and Bucky leaned his head into Steve's outstretched hand. Callous fingers moved across the slight stubble beginning to dust the sharp jaw. When a thump pressed against his lips, Bucky happily opened his mouth and sucked the digit inside his mouth, providing Steve with a most arousal swirl of his tongue. Bucky felt the cock jump between his fingers when Steve pictured him nipping at the tip of the thumb and the Captain heard the wanton moan with perfect clarity inside his mind, the noise nearly throwing Steve over the edge. Bucky must have realised that Steve's 'little soldier' was once more ready for action and he withdrew his hand, to the detective's immense disdain.

'What were you thinking of?' Steve didn't think his face could get any reader than it already was but he was sorely mistaken… The thought that his dirty fantasy had been so realistic it had showed across his face was mortifying and he gaped like a fish on land, not managing to speak a single coherent word. Judging from the slight smirk pulling at a corner of Bucky's mouth, he had a pretty clear idea of what Steve was so poorly trying to hide.

He didn't see any reason for the law enforcer's shyness, not at that point in time, but he decided not to tease him too much about it. Bucky actually found it kind of cute which only made him irritated. Why was it so easy to be around the man?! Why did he feel like smiling and teasing and joking with his supposed enemy?! He hadn't smiled in years, seeing absolutely no joy in the dark underbelly of society which kept him on a tight leash, but ever since he'd run into the man currently struggling not to buck his hips under him it was like a dead part of himself was stubbornly coming back to life. He wanted, needed, answers to those questions but he was terrified of what he would find. He was terrified that Steve was right and he'd once been a good man who helped others. It was better if that side of him remained dormant because if it ever awakened the guilt of all the horrible things he'd done at the behest of his new handlers would consume him like hellfire…

Bucky felt that unpleasant tornado of troubling questions getting closer and closer and he did what he always did when that happened…. He ran away. Without any further warning, Bucky used the support of his knees to lift himself just high enough so he could guide Steve's straining erection to his entrance. As soon as he began lowering himself, enclosing the length with pleasantly constricting muscles, he saw Steve throw his head back in ecstasy. He was tempted to do the same, the feeling of each pulsing throb given off by the fully sheathed cock sending vibrations through him which only seemed to increase in intensity, but he resisted. He wanted to see what Steve looked like. He wanted to take careful note of each expression which crosses over the man's face, fining as much pleasure in the actual sex as in knowing his partner was feeling just as good. There it was again! That incentive need to please the blond man!

Bucky grit his teeth in barely restrained anger as he increased the pace of his movements, taking Steve completely by surprise. He deliberately looked away when wide blue eyes fixed on him, gasping for breath as he stared at the crack in the ceiling right above his head. He wanted to forget everything, desperately seeking that oblivious blackness which had become so familiar over the past few years. He chased it even if it would only last a very short while. He wasn't gentle as he impaled himself on the erect cock over and over, making sure it rammed into his prostate every time. The momentum of their movements shook the entire bed, the rusted frame hitting the wall with such force Bucky felt some debris dust over his shoulder from the crack veining across the ceiling. Maybe if they kept at it they would bring the whole building down…

The cuffs cut into Steve's wrists, drawing a tiny river of crimson which coursed down his forearms. He didn't notice the unimportant injury, his arms straining even more against their restraints. The cuffs were too strong to brake with sheer human force but fortunately the metal bars holding the cuffs weren't. The ends of the bar snapped from the weaker fusion points with the rest of the frame and thunked by the foot of the bed as it slid between the silver chain. Bucky's attention snapped back to Steve at the sound, his fingers already ready to spring for the gun, but Steve reached for him first. The handcuffs still restrained his movements but he could at least touch his Bucky now and he reached for a shoulder. Before Bucky could decide if this was a threat or not, he was pulled in a heated kiss and his arms wrapped around Steve's upper back instead. Fingers tangled in the short cropped hair as Bucky pulled the man closer to him, subconsciously yielding full control over to him.

Steve took over, thrusting his hips with renewed vigour, drawing louder and louder noises out of him. Through some silent understanding, they adjusted their position so Steve's arms wrapped around Bucky's waist. He shivered slightly when the cold chain touched along his spine until Steve settled around the small of his back. Some strands of hair were glued to Bucky's cheek, held there by the moisture gathering on his skin. Steve couldn't stop pressing his lips to any available patch of skin he came across. He was sure he'd run his tongue over every bit of Bucky's neck and he was satisfied to latch onto his jugular, distracted by the increase in the other man's pulse, until he was distracted by something red. He moved his eyes to the distraction and frowned at the blood-red star inked into Bucky's left shoulder. That hadn't been there before. It unsettled him somehow, the thought that criminals left their permanent mark on his best friend. He drove even harder into Bucky as he saw only red before his eyes. He sunk his teeth into the star with more pressure than he intended, prompting Bucky to suddenly dig his nails into his shoulder blades.

Bucky pressed his forehead to Steve's shoulder and hugged the other man even tighter, desperately clinging to his warmth. He felt the hands around his waist pull him closer and he knew Steve understood what he needed without him having to say a thing. That intimacy ended up providing the final push and Bucky pressed his mouth to the area of skin between Steve's neck and shoulder so he would muffle his loudest moan yet. The friction along his cock, provided by their bodies sliding against one another, squeezed the last of his release out of him and Bucky was left panting for breath. He still held tightly onto Steve, his fingers clutching the man's nape as if he were drowning and Steve was his only lifeline. His legs trembled as heat flooded his insides and after a few more thrusts, Steve's movements stopped as well. He could feel the other's raspy breath burn across the red star forced onto him by his criminal bosses.

The two remained locked in the embrace for what seemed like a small eternity. Both knew that as soon as they pulled away they would have no choice but return back to their respective lives. What they did that night chained both of them in irrevocable ways but that didn't mean they suddenly became new people. They couldn't even be certain the act would repeat itself in the future though each harboured a deep desire for that. Bucky was the first to snap back to reality. He was indoctrinated to focus on his mission and nothing else by people who didn't know what _nice_ was. He'd wasted too much time as it was and he couldn't afford to delay any further, even if for the first time he found it hard to focus on what had to be done.

Without hesitation Bucky suddenly straightened up and before Steve managed to do more than open his eyes, the criminal head-butted the confused man. While Steve was seeing dancing red stars circling his head like a celestial halo, Bucky easily disentangled himself from the embrace and, before Steve's head hit the mattress, he delivered two swift punches to the Captain's jaw and temple. The blows knocked Steve out cold. Bucky made sure they wouldn't do much damage other than that, with the exception of some unpleasant bruises, but he was sure the ex-soldier could live with those. Bucky stared at Steve a while longer, mentally attempting to force his killer instinct to take over. He told himself he wanted to kill the unconscious man but he knew he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. If anything, his plan backfired completely. Instead of getting Steve out of his system he'd only managed to lose more of himself to the man. He knew for a fact that he would fail to kill him now and any other time in the future and Bucky desperately hoped his bosses didn't ask that of him. If it came down to choosing between Steve or a direct order…. Well, Bucky dreaded ever having to make that decision.

Quickly, he got dressed, retrieving his gun and securing it in its holster. He hadn't applied enough force to his punches to knock Steve out for more than an hour, two if he was lucky, and he planned to be far away from the abandoned building long before the man opened his eyes. He still had a mission to take care of after all and that assassination won't happen by itself. It was just his luck that his own personal hound sniffed him out before he had time to take care of his job. Honestly, the detective was incorrigible and he would be so much better off if he just killed him… Bucky sighed, knowing it was yet another futile attempt to lie to himself. He glanced at the slumbering man one last time before he left, without so much as a pause in his steps.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed it! I certainly had fun writing it and there might be more of those two from me in the future...Only time will tell. XD**

 **HAVE A LOVELY DAY!**


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